“Alright, are you ready to get inked? I love working with virgin skin,” he said, looking me over. He didn't get much of a look since I was bundled up from head to toe.
“Well, let’s go pop my tattoo cherry,” I said, figuring I needed to fight sarcasm with sarcasm so I wouldn’t be blushing the whole time.
Taze’s eyes widened, and Stace giggled.
“That’s it; don’t let him get away with his BS,” Stace replied, nudging Taze with her shoulder.
“I like this one,” Taze said, leading me to the same room where he’d worked on Van.
“I do too,” Kill said, kissing me on the cheek. Kill followed me closely, pinching my ass as I walked. I turned around to glare at him, but he gave me an innocent look. My hand gripped a handful of his amazing ass, not even trying to hide what I was doing. His eyes went wide, and I shot him an innocent look which mirrored the one he’d given me.
“So, where are we doing this?” Taze asked, transforming into professional mode as soon as we entered the room.
“On my right wrist,” I answered, pulling my hoodie up and exposing the skin.
I tried not to flinch when I eyed the silver scar running down my wrist. I wouldn’t be unable to hide it from Taze when he started working there.
“Are you sure?” Taze asked, looking like he wanted to talk me out of it.
“Yes, and I wanted to thank you for drawing something so beautiful. I loved it the moment I saw it, and my wrist is the perfect place for me to remember.”
I didn’t say anything further, not wanting Jason to tarnish this moment for me. Stace nodded at Taze, a knowing look on her face. Kill stood behind me, his body tightening when I ran my finger over the scar marring my skin. He’d never mentioned seeing it before, so it could’ve been the first time he’d ever noticed it.
“Okay, but I'm going to have to shrink it down so it will fit here,” Taze said, leaving the room with the sketch.
“I'm so glad you liked it,” Stace said. “I was worried you might be upset that I told Taze about what we talked about.” She was wringing her hands together, showing just how nervous she was at my reaction.
“I love it, Stace. It was one of the best Christmas presents I’ve ever received.”
I reached up and fingered my necklace, hopefully letting Kill know that one was my favorite.
“Good, I’m glad,” she said, smiling brightly.
Taze came back, and I sat in a chair as he prepared to permanently adhere my mended broken heart on me. He stuck the drawing on my skin, transferring it to my wrist and made me move around to make sure it was in the correct place. I had to give him credit, he only paused for a fraction of a second when he saw the scar running down my wrist. I gave him the go ahead, and he started the gun letting it hum to life.
"I'm going to do one line so you will know what it feels like." He ran the gun over a small portion of the outline. The needle bit into my skin, but it was more annoying than painful.
"How was that?" Taze asked, pulling the gun away from my skin.
"Fine, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."
Taze smiled at me before he bent his head and went to work. Kill and Taze talked about the upcoming tour while he worked. D received the schedule of the confirmed venues, and they discussed the different places the band was going to play.
“Are you going on tour with him?” Taze asked me.
I shook my head, but realized he wouldn't be able to see me. “I have one more semester in school. I need to finish up, and, anyway, when the tour is over he’ll be back in Portland.”
I refused to let tears flood my eyes, but I saw the pain in Kill’s face as well.
“Well, six months isn’t that long, and if you get bored with studying, you can always come over and hang out. I would love another female to talk to,” Stace said. She was sitting with her legs crossed on the table.
“I might just do that. I only have one class left and work to keep me busy. But I don’t know what I'm going to do with an empty house,” I said, thinking of how much I was going to miss all the boys.
Taze rubbed a cloth over my heated skin, announcing that he was done. I peered down, and this time my eyes did tear up. It was a perfect blend of black and gray. The scars had stitches over them, and the tiny metal plate with screws on each side ensured it would never break again.
“I love it,” I said, using my other hand to wipe my tears away.
Taze smiled just as brightly as Stace. Kill stared in wonder.
